inspecting a new build house?

[hooligan]

I would say absolutely yes.


We had an inspection done on a new-construction townhome we bought back in '07. It revealed a broken roof truss that we almost certainly would never have spotted on our own.

[Capitalprophets]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

Please excuse me if this is a old chestnut topic...

I am house hunting and there are a couple of new builds on the possibles list. The builders are small scale and local...not likely to find any published critiques about the companies anywhere. Obviously I can check for business licensing, history, etc locally.

Questions:

If I want to have them inspected would a "regular" licensed inspector be appropriate or should I do something different?

This is small town AK...not much in the way of codes or enforcement. Would a home inspector be likely to call out initial quality concerns in addition to obvious deficiencies or pending problems?

I don't know yet if they offer any sort of warranty or not. If so, how does that typically play into addressing inspection items?

Should I post this under the House forum rather than here?

What should I be asking that I'm not?

Thank you for advice and suggestions!

Especially in a town where not much code is enforced. I'd highly recommend hiring your own third party inspector. I used a phased inspection for my new construction and I was really satisfied because all the things they find matched up with what city inspectors found but even some more things. Not necessary deal breakers but some small stuff but for me thats everything. Its almost like second opinion. It also tells you that the builder is competent or just slacking in your building progress.

[ddm2k]

Originally Posted by katharsis

This is just ONE opinion based on my ONE experience, but I personally will never again buy from an inexperienced builder. We bought our home, had it inspected (and it passed), but there was one major thing wrong with it after another.

This was in a small town in Maine, btw, and (unknown to us at the time), the builder was related to many people in the area, and so I am thinking it was possible that everyone from the builder to the realtor to the inspector were in cahoots to help the builder and not us. (Well, at least we recovered from that horrible experience, but I am sure that others in the same situation have not been so lucky.)

Good luck to you, though!

Not saying you really had many other options for new construction, but...

1. I HATE doing business with family or when some chooses to do business with family. The deal or discount you receive is reflected in the urgency and workmanship that is performed. Plus, you jeopardize what relationship you have with that person if you need to call him or her out on some half-hearted work.

2. If the builder doesn't really have enough business, therefore practice, to build a home start-to-finish with the reflexes to overcome obstacles as they are encountered, you will suffer each and everyone one of those hiccups as a homeowner, because the contractor stumbled their way around them.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by Capitalprophets

Especially in a town where not much code is enforced. I'd highly recommend hiring your own third party inspector. I used a phased inspection for my new construction and I was really satisfied because all the things they find matched up with what city inspectors found but even some more things. Not necessary deal breakers but some small stuff but for me thats everything. Its almost like second opinion. It also tells you that the builder is competent or just slacking in your building progress.

Yes I do plan on hiring my own inspector for all the good reasons folks have listed. Just didn't know whether it might be approached differently with a new build with builder warranty...which it does have apparently. Code enforcement is slowly catching up around here but I haven't researched to what level of detail it even exists. I also learn so much from walking around a house with a good inspector...recommendations for future maintenance, things to watch for, avoid, little quirks to be aware of, etc.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone! The house is expensive compared to what I've owned before but not unexpected. More than my current house will bring when sold. No mortgage on it. Size and layout will work. A lot of lower maintenance, durable materials used besides simply being new. 5 Star Plus energy rating too. However, on top of the higher price there are the added costs: a couple of appliances not supplied, landscaping (unless you like looking at dirt for a few years), shades, blinds, or drapes, satellite/internet services (no local reception or cable here).

[Brandon Hoffman]

I recommend inspections. If it's being built for you, inspect it throughout the process. I have inspectors that will come pre-drywall so they can see the studs and again at several key points. They give a price break for the multiple inspections. I'd do it on my own home.

[Capitalprophets]

Personally, I got a third party inspection done with full report and videos. Not only because something can be wrong. But it also helps sell the house in the future proving to the interested buyer that everything was done correctly.

[carcrazy67]

Having inspected thousands of houses, I've never had a perfect house...even when new. I've had new construction houses with piers in the wrong place, broken roof trusses, water intrusion issues, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, just about any issue you can imagine. Some builders are very good. Some very well known builders.....are not!